Research Article ‘‘Sometimes It’s Difficult to Have a Normal Life’’: Results from a Qualitative Study Exploring Caregiver Burden in Schizophrenia

Copyright © 2014 Adam Gater et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objectives. As a disease typified by early onset and chronic disease course, caring for a person with schizophrenia may have a significant impact on caregivers ’ lives. This study aimed to investigate the subjective experiences of caregivers of people with schizophrenia as ameans of understanding “caregiver burden ” in this population.Methods. Face-to-face qualitative interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of 19 US-English speaking caregivers of people with schizophrenia (who were at least moderately ill). Interview transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory methods and findings used to inform the development of a preliminary conceptualmodel outlining caregivers ’ experiences.Results. Findings support assertions that peoplewith schizophrenia were largely dependent upon caregivers for the provision of care and caregivers subsequently reported lacking time for themselves and their other responsibilities (e.g., family and work). Caregiver burden frequently manifested as detriments in physical (e.g., fatigue, sickness) and emotional well-being (e.g., depression and anxiety). Conclusions. Caring for a person with schizophrenia has a significant impact on the lives of informal (unpaid) caregivers and alleviating caregiver burden is critical for managing individua